When A Priest Hates His PriesthoodPosted on 07/10/2010 11:54:19 AM PDT by mlizzy
When A Priest Hates His Priesthood
A priest, recently accused of stealing funds from his parish and of using it to pay for certain vices, is quoted in the news as having said that he had come "to hate his priesthood." This statement was, to my mind, more disturbing and painful than anything else in the reports of the media. How does a priest arrive at a point in his life where he hates his priesthood?
Into Despair
The priest who hates his priesthood, hates his very self, his truest self, his sacred identity. The priesthood is not a profession that one exercises, it is, rather, by virtue of the indelible character impressed upon his soul at ordination, a real identification with Christ the Eternal High Priest and Spotless Victim. Hatred for what is sacred is one of the signs of diabolical influence and activity. The devil knows the psychology of priests. Centuries of experience have given him a refined knowledge of which temptations work best in trying to bring down a priest. With his perverse intelligence, the devil can lead a priest from weakness to weakness, and vice to vice, into a state of despair and self-loathing. His ultimate goal, of course, is to cause the priest to despair of the mercy of God and, out of that despair, destroy himself. This doesn't happen overnight.
Corruption
The corruption of a priestly soul happens slowly, almost imperceptibly. Typically, it happens through one of three avenues: the lust for power, the lust for money and possessions, or the lust for sexual gratification. Although all three lusts are closely interconnected, one generally takes the lead, drawing the two others after it. Where one finds impurity, for example, one will also, in all likelihood, find ambition, greed, self-aggrandizement, and the appetite for power over persons and things.
Pride and Anger
What triggers the initial collusion with vice? Pride, being an unreasonable appreciation of one's own worth and narcissistic perception of one's own place in the world spawns other vices. So too does anger: anger over injustices, anger over lost opportunities, failures, rejections, deeply rooted hurts, betrayals, disappointments, or abuse. Habitual sins of impurity, for example, can often be traced to unresolved anger and the refusal of forgiveness.
Envy and Greed
Envy and greed can also also trigger the collusion with vice. Another has the possessions, qualities, position, power, good looks, intelligence, or popularity that one wants. The more one becomes obsessed with what one does not have and with what another has, or appears to have, the more one suffers from a gnawing emptiness within. Out of that emptiness spirals the rage of envy. Such an enraged envy can beget any number of vices.
Gluttony and Sloth
Gluttony and sloth soften a man and dispose him to melancholy, self-pity, listlessness, and lack of energy. All or any one of these characteristics are spiritual danger signals, especially in the life of a priest. If they are not brought to the light and confessed to a spiritual father with honesty and humility, a capitulation to vice is inevitable.
Spiritual Blindness and Hardheartedness
The capitulation to vices leads to spiritual blindness and hardheartedness. The priest in this state become indifferent to the sins of sacrilege that defile his ascent to the altar. He no longer feels compunction for his sins. The emptiness and bitterness generated by vicious acts compels him to look for ways to deaden the salutary disgust that a soul in the state of grace feels in the face of sin.
Why Does It Happen?
How can it be that a priest, who presumably preaches the Word of God, administers the sacraments, and offers the Holy Sacrifice regularly, can descend to the point of hating his own priesthood?
1. First of all, unless certain ascetical safeguards are in place, the current living situation of many diocesan priests is intrinsically dangerous and unhealthy. Alone after an exhausting day, with nought but the computer, the television, the refrigerator, and the liquor cabinet to fill his evenings, he is accountable to no one. Diocesan priests are not called to an eremitical life. The diocesan priest needs 1) the Eucharistic context provided by the parish community, 2) the affective context provided by healthy friendships with other priests and by frequent exchanges with them, and 3) the mystical context provided by intimacy with Our Divine Lord in the Sacrament of His Love and in the Word of God, with Our Lady, the Mother of Priests and their Advocate, and with the angels and saints.
2. Every bishop is bound to see his priests regularly, to know them, and to inquire if they are offering Holy Mass daily, praying the Divine Office, expressing devotion to Our Lady through the rosary, going to confession regularly, and baring their soul to a spiritual father. A bishop who never asks these questions of his priests -- for fear of being intrusive, or because their outward appearance gives no cause for alarm, or because their administration of the parish raises no red flags -- is shirking his primary responsibility, the one upon which the very life of the diocese depends: the moral health and spiritual vitality of his clergy. An exaggerated notion of the "internal forum" has led some bishops never to broach the subject of the interior life with their priests. This is a deadly misconception.
3. When priests are not accountable to each other, the entire notion of sacerdotal brotherhood is compromised. "Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:19) A priest who refuses to intervene when he sees disturbing indications that all is not well in the life of a brother priest, will be held accountable for the sins of that brother priest and for his fall from grace. Interventions require humility, gentleness, tact -- and all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Interventions are difficult both for the priest intervening and for the priest being confronted, but they can be a matter of spiritual life or death.
Soon after my brother-in-law entered the seminary, his mother fell seriously ill. After 10+ years, she still leads a most difficult existence. Fr. told us many mothers of priests suffer, and this is a way of keeping their sons safe from Satan. I like the advice Fr. Mark Kirby gives on having the bishops check up on the priests to see if they’ve been to Confession, are offering daily Mass, and reciting the rosary.
This is a great article. I was actually stunned by the fact that this man said, literally, that he “hated his priesthood.”
In addition to the excellent analysis in the article, I think there’s another reason: the priesthood in the Catholic Church became despised after Vatican II. Priests were supposed to be social workers or like Protestant ministers, just jolly good fellows who would show up at weddings and funerals and stay out of the way the rest of the time.
A priest who understood his priesthood (which is much more profound than non-Catholics understand) suddenly became a virtual pariah, regarded as “overly devout.” The social worker model was adopted. Usually, alas, the gay social worker model.
I think this man went one step beyond: I think he was so angry at the Church for having betrayed his priesthood, that is, the original concept that probably was what drew him to this, that he wanted to do something horrible to the Church (in the person of his humble, hardworking parishioners).
Cases like this are the reason that BXVI proclaimed the “Year of the Priest.” My bishop (Diocese of St Augustine), of course, did nothing for it. The Cathedral Parish pastor arranged both both opening and closing ceremonies at the Cathedral and our bishop attended neither of them.
I think this is because he is very leftwing and believes in the “withering away of the Church,” where we will all simply become leftwing social activists and Christianity will morph into a sort of soft Marxism.
It’s no wonder that some priests are scandalized to their core.
Thanks for posting this. As I added it to the Readings’ thread for yesterday, I thought — Wow! What an article.
My mother would have 3rd world priests over for dinner growing up? She didn’t tell me but she wanted them to feel at home with kindness. Also I suspect from prejudice. They always were the best mannered. But to hear this crap!
We have an Indian priest at our parish that is so spiritual you see it immediately upon opening the Church doors. One day (after I’d been praying so hard that our new pastor would be holy — our current one is similar to the ones talked about in this post), I saw not only Fr., but two other Indian priests at the altar and this was just a *daily* Mass. I got this spiritual rush for a second thinking one was going to be our new pastor, but, Fr. told everyone after Mass they were friends just visiting from another diocese. Oh, well. More prayers needed!
We have an indian priest going back after ten years to india.
Cases like this are the reason that BXVI proclaimed the “Year of the Priest.” My bishop (Diocese of St Augustine), of course, did nothing for it. The Cathedral Parish pastor arranged both both opening and closing ceremonies at the Cathedral and our bishop attended neither of them.Our parish *did* have something to honor the "Year of the Priest," weekly prayer for an hour, but when I went to join them, I found it was only the "regulars" that were there (those that participate in all of the Church's Sacraments). Not that that is bad; this handful of people are the ones I feel that keep our parish and town spiritually [and literally] alive. Now ... to be fruitful and multiply. :):)
Our pastor actually got a good attendance for the services, partly because he publicized them widely outside of the bulletin. It was a real slap in the face that the bishop didn’t show up, though, Fortunately, he’s retiring in the fall.
Thanks for posting this. As I added it to the Readings’ thread for yesterday, I thought — Wow! What an article.Fr. Mark Kirby is a priest that deserves a Wow! for sure. I wonder how much time he averages in front of the Blessed Sacrament every day.
Our pastor actually got a good attendance for the services, partly because he publicized them widely outside of the bulletin. It was a real slap in the face that the bishop didn’t show up, though, Fortunately, he’s retiring in the fall.Yes, that *is* a slap in the face. Our pastor is now our bishop ... well, auxiliary; he just started this month ...
We have an indian priest going back after ten years to india.Do you know why he's returning to India?
In the past 10 years I’ve met priests from Africa, VietNam, and Ireland, all serving as parish priests in rural areas. It’s my opinion that they’re likely the cream of the crop, very devout and cheerful. But all of them missed their homes...even though two of them are in the States permanently.
Must be very difficult and lonely, even though the parishes were, as far as I could see, welcoming and active.
Must be very difficult and lonely, even though the parishes were, as far as I could see, welcoming and active.I'm glad to have them (they seem more at peace), but, yes, it must be difficult to be away from home. Our culture is so different.
His bishop asked for him back. He was to stay only a few years. But lasted longer. What devout man.
What diocese are you in? I hope your new bishop is one of the good guys. We produced a great bishop here, Bp Robert Baker, from one of our Cathedral pastors.
Sadly, we have gotten very nondescript bishops for decades now, even though St Augustine has a glorious history as the place where Catholicism was introduced into what is now the US. And the most recent one has been not only nondescript but hostile.
That's sad. We had a Mass to close it that Archbishop Carlson said and he invited the priests celebrating their 40th anniversaries, as he did this year, to come. The Archdiocesan Choir sang and everything.
It is sad. You’re very lucky to have somebody like Abp Carlson and I am sure your priests also realize how fortunate they are to have him. I honestly don’t know why a bishop would take the attitude that ours has taken, except that he clearly hates Rome and I think this is his way of expressing it.
Don’t think we don’t know how lucky we are. Carlson has a completely different style from any bishop we’ve ever had. He says Mass at a different parish every Sunday, sometimes two. He knocks on the rectory door with his bag in hand and no secretary or assistant and takes the time to visit. From 10 am - 3 pm on Fridays - every Friday - he has open house at the residence for the priests of the archdiocese to come talk to him, talk to each other and maybe eat. His schedule is published in the Catholic paper and I’m telling you he’s met with everyone of consequence in town. Yes, his favorite summer garb is short-sleeved clericals, but he ALWAYS wears the pectoral cross. He walks his dogs every day in the CWE which is honestly a really neat place now. All that’s great, but a better indication - there’s an article in this morning’s Post-Disgrace that he’s made an offer of reconciliation to St. Stanislaus and they’re going to vote on it at the end of the month. We all thought it would take a lot longer. Honestly, how did we luck out?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.